Never Mind The Distance
by stormhunt95
Summary: Sam and Dean hunt a Wendigo. Sam makes the tiniest mistake and Dean takes the fall for it. When Sam can no longer handle it, it's Bobby to the rescue.
1. Chapter 1

**Sam**

We were tracking a wendigo in Minnesota. Of course it had to be in the middle of nowhere in a forest that people swore was haunted. I adjusted the strap of my backpack and called back to Dean, "Hey, how's it going back there?"

From several feet behind me came his reply, "Why do these creatures love hiding so far out in the middle of freakin' nowhere? This is why I don't get why you enjoy hiking."

I smirked, glancing back over my shoulder at him. He was carrying his own pack over one shoulder and a shotgun in his free hand. And he was clearly out of breath. I suggested, "Maybe if you went running with me or something, this wouldn't happen every time we go on a hunt through the woods."

"Shut up, Sam."

My smirk turned into a grin, but I left him alone. We hiked for another hour before it started getting dark. We stopped for the night and surrounded our camp with protective sigils drawn in the dirt. The last thing we needed was for the wendigo to catch us sleeping.

Dean took the first watch. I stretched out on a blanket next to the fire and watched Dean check his guns. I fell asleep to the familiar sound of him taking apart and rebuilding his shotgun.

It felt like I was only asleep for a few seconds when Dean woke me up to take the second watch. Without saying anything, he took my spot on the blanket and was breathing deeply shortly after. I added another log to the fire, moved a corner of the blanket away from the fire, and then settled down towards the edge of camp with Dad's journal. I only nodded off for maybe a minute. I was jolted awake by Dean screaming in pain and his shotgun going off. I rocked to my feet and rushed towards the sound, yelling, "Dean! Where are you?"

To my surprise, I heard my brother yell back, "Sam? Hey get back here!"

I skidded to a stop and spun around. Dean was running towards me, shotgun in hand. I stared at him and thought, _Wait, if he's there…_

The wendigo came out of nowhere. It slammed me to the ground and I couldn't get my arms up in time to protect myself. It was about to slash open my chest when Dean appeared. He swung the gun like a bat and knocked it off of me. He stepped in between me and the creature and snapped, "Sam, get up and cover me!"

The wendigo had disappeared from sight. I scrambled to my feet and pressed my back against Dean's. We waited for several seconds before Dean said, "OK, we need to get back to camp. On the count of-"

The wendigo dropped down from the trees above us, knocking both of us to the ground. I heard Dean really cry out this time and I once again struggled to my feet. I picked up the fallen shotgun and fired at the wendigo. It snarled in anger and threw itself at me. I shot it again and it vanished into the darkness. I waited to see if it would attack again, but it didn't show itself. I called out, "Dean? You alright?"

No reply.


	2. Chapter 2

**Bobby**

"No, Rufus, they're already on a hunt. You're gonna have to find a hunter closer to you.." I sighed.

Rufus wasn't done. "You are the closest hunter!"

"You said you're in Seattle? That's a three day drive! I'm pretty sure that there's someone closer. What about that couple that helped you with that vampire nest awhile back? They didn't hate you by the time it was taken care of."

He swore at me and I replied, "Yeah, good luck to you too."

I hung up and decided I needed a beer. I had my hand on the fridge's door handle when my cell phone rang. I walked back to my desk, snatched it off a pile of books, and said, "Yeah?"

Sam's voice was on the verge of total panic. "Bobby?"

"Sam? What's wrong?" I frowned, catching the sound of labored breathing. "You OK?"

"It's Dean. The wendigo attacked us and he's really hurt. We didn't kill it, and I don't know where it is."

I closed my eyes as the worry hit me. "Where are you?"

"Outside of Alexandria in this forest." This time I heard coughing.

I asked, "How bad is Dean hurt?"

"It's bad, Bobby. And that thing is still out here with us and it could come back-"

I opened my eyes and said firmly, "Sam, you have to stay calm. Freaking out won't help your brother. Is there anywhere you two can hole up until I get there?"

"We have a camp surrounded with protective sigils, but it's out in the open."

"That should work for now. I'm on my way, boy. Just hold on until I get there."

"Oh, we still have a motel room that has maps of the area. I might have left one of where we are."

"Alright, text me the name of the motel and room number. I'll see you soon."

We hung up and I grabbed the bag I always had packed. My phone beeped, letting me know I had a text; Sam had sent me their motel information. I got into my car and left the salvage yard, already going thirty when I hit the main road. I pushed it to sixty and prayed that I would be the only one out at this time of night. I checked my watch and realized it was four in the morning. The sun would be up in a few hours, so hopefully the wendigo would go into hiding for the day.

I was in Alexandria by eight. It didn't take very long to find the right motel and the boys' room. There were maps neatly laid out on a table and I couldn't help but smile. That was definitely Sam's work. I picked up a map with several spots circled in red and turned to leave. I noticed a magazine on one of the beds with a mostly naked woman on the cover; Dean's work.

It suddenly hit me that my boys were in trouble. I knew it was part of the job, and they knew the risks. But that didn't mean that I didn't worry about them every time they went out on a hunt. I took my phone out of my pocket and called Sam. He didn't answer and I hung up before the voicemail beeped at me. I tried his number again and still nothing. _Maybe his phone is almost dead and he's trying to save the battery?_ I thought, heading out to my car.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sam**

The wendigo had really tore Dean up. He had deep cuts across his chest and stomach, and I discovered a large bump on the back of his head from when it knocked him to the ground. Before I moved him back to the camp, I wrapped my jacket tight around his upper torso to try and slow the bleeding. It had taken ten minutes of dragging him, hearing his involuntary pained noises, and my repeated apologies. He was barely conscious, so he probably didn't hear me.

I got him onto the blanket near the fire and redrew the sigils around us. Then, I pulled our first-aid supplies out of my pack and told him, "I know this is going to hurt. Just bear with me, OK?"

His eyes were glazed over with pain and I knew he couldn't hear me. So I untied my jacket from around him, got him out of his leather jacket, and cut his shirt open the rest of the way. I started stitching his wounds closed and at first he tried to get away from me. I ended up having to press my knee down across his thighs and pin him down. After about a minute, he finally passed out. I got the rest of the wounds closed, cleaned him up the best I could, and then I tried to wake him up.

"Dean? Come on, man," I folded up a spare shirt and put it under his head.

He slowly opened his eyes and whispered, "Sam? What...happened?"

I carefully covered the wounds on his chest with bandages. "The wendigo attacked us. Remember?"

He thought for a moment, watching me work. Then he said, "Yeah, I remember. You OK?"

"I'm fine. Listen, I didn't get a chance to kill it, and we can't risk leaving the camp with you injured like this. I called Bobby and he's going to come help us out."

Dean stared up at the sky and I started re-packing my bag. If we needed to move fast, I wanted to be ready. I didn't realize Dean was watching me until he said, "Hey, what happened to your leg?"

I glanced down and noticed blood soaking through my jeans on my right leg. I dragged the first-aid gear back out of my bag and sat down next to Dean. I cut open my jeans all the way up to my knee and discovered a six-inch cut that went from just below my knee and went back around my calf. I cleaned it up and luckily it wasn't very deep. I wrapped it tightly with bandages and medical tape.

Dean commented, "Should use duct tape. It lasts longer than that flimsy tape."

I ignored the comment and asked, "How's your head? How many of me are you seeing?"

"Just the one." He started to close his eyes and I said, "No sleeping. You are on concussion watch. You get to stay awake for at least two more hours."

He groaned, but didn't fight me on the topic. I helped him get into a spare t-shirt. To keep him awake, I rattled off a list of questions, mostly about creatures we hunted. When his two hours were up, I made him answer a few more things before letting him doze off. I stayed awake for at least another hour before I felt myself falling asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Bobby**

"Dammit, boy, answer your phone!" I growled. I had called Sam several times since

leaving the motel and he still hadn't picked up. I threw my phone onto the passenger seat and checked the map to make sure I was going the right way.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when my phone rang. I grabbed and answered it,

"Sam?"

"Sorry I missed your calls. I fell asleep."

The kid sounded exhausted, so I decided to not remind him of how dangerous that had been. "It's fine. How's Dean doing?"

"I kept him up for a couple hours, but he's sleeping now. I managed to stitch him up and he seems to be doing OK. I'm worried that he might have a concussion."

I turned onto a dirt road and continued questioning him about Dean's injuries. I finally got to where the Impala was parked and told Sam, "Alright, I just got to the Impala. Do you know how far you hiked from it?"

"No, but we cut marks into trees as we went."

"OK. Listen, I have to hang up so I can have both hands on a gun. Stay where you are and don't move until you see me. If you think you hear me yelling at you, don't listen to it."

He hesitated. "Right. Wendigos can mimic voices."

I retrieved my bag and shotgun from the back seat and started my hike into the forest. After following the boys' marks for about half an hour, I came to a clearing. I saw Sam circling around Dean, who lay on the ground. I whistled once and Sam's head whipped around. He waited until I was within feet of their camp before greeting me, "Good to see you, Bobby."

"You too, boy. Now let's get you two out of here." I knelt down next to Dean and carefully shook his shoulder. He groaned at me, but eventually opened his eyes. He was confused for a second before recognizing me. "Bobby? What are you- oh, right. Sam called you."

"Yep. Come on, let's get you up."

Sam and I got Dean standing, and then I pulled one of his arms across my shoulders.. Sam carried him and Dean's bag on one shoulder and mine on the other. He also assured me he could handle a gun so he could follow us out. I didn't argue with him.

We were about halfway back to the cars when Dean made a pained noise. He had been doing well so far, and that's why I said, "Dean? What is it?"

"Nothing-"

"A wendigo almost tore your heart out. It's not nothing."

He pressed a hand against his chest to prevent me from checking his wounds. "I'm fine. Let's just get out of here."

I huffed out a breath. "You Winchesters…"

Both of them chuckled and we continued on. When we finally reached the cars, I let Dean lean against the side of the Impala so I could find my keys. The wendigo came out of nowhere.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sam**

One second I was unlocking the Impala and throwing our bags onto the passenger seat, and the next I heard Dean cry out. I whipped around in time to see Bobby bring his shotgun up. He shot the creature off of Dean and I rushed to get in between it and my brother. Before the wendigo had a chance to disappear, Bobby snapped out, "Sam, down!"

I threw myself over Dean, who had hit the ground and hadn't moved, and Bobby shot the creature with a flare gun. It went up in flames and screamed as it died. Silence followed, ended by Bobby asking, "Boys?"

I rolled off of Dean and answered, "I'm good, but I don't think Dean is."

We inspected him and discovered that the wendigo had slashed through his stitches and given him several new wounds. We cleaned them up the best we could and then loaded him up into the backseat of the Impala. With Bobby in his truck and me driving the Impala, we headed back to the motel. During the drive, pain started in the wound on my leg. I glanced down and saw fresh blood had dyed my already ruined jeans a darker shade of red.. I tried to ignore it the best I could.

I checked on Dean in the rearview mirror and asked, "Dean? Can you hear me?"

It didn't really surprise me that he didn't answer, but it did worry me. As I came down off the adrenaline, the pain worsened. So by the time we arrived at the motel, my leg was shaking and I could barely work the gas and brake pedals. I parked next to Bobby, flinching as I hit the brake. Bobby noticed. The second I got out of the car, he put a hand on my shoulder to keep me in place and stared down at my leg.

"Dammit, boy, why didn't you tell me you were hurt?" he growled.

"Dean's worse." I pushed past him to open the back door and I stumbled a little.

"I'll get your brother, you worry about yourself. Go get the room door open for us."

"If Dean is unconscious, there's no way you'll be able to carry him. I can do it-"

"Boy, I used to haul your Daddy from car to couch when a hunt went wrong. And I'm certain he was heavier than Dean. Now get your ass in that room and don't bother arguing."

He now stood in between me and Dean, staring up at me stubbornly. I finally nodded and gathered our gear and brought it to our room. Bobby carried Dean in and laid him on a bed. We cut his shirt off and Bobby used a pair of tweezers to remove the broken stitches. When he began re-stitching the wounds, Dean groaned and struggled weakly against him. I held him still and asked Bobby, "What about a concussion?"

"We'll have to wait until he wakes up. And if he does, we'll have to consider a hospital. I can't x-ray his head and we need to know how bad he's hurt."

 ***Hey guys, thanks for reading and reviewing! I was going to post a chapter a day, but I won't be able to for the next couple days. So you get several today and hopefully a new one when I get back. Thanks again! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Bobby**

After Dean was bandaged and left to rest, Bobby ordered, "Sam, now it's your turn. Pants off and on the other bed."

Dean would have cracked a smile and a joke about that, but Sam wasn't in the mood. He followed the order, lying on his stomach, and I noticed he gathered the sheets in each fist. I pulled a chair over to his bed and set my first aid kit within easy reach. I cleaned the wound carefully and mumbled, "Alcohol," before pouring it on him. He blew out a breath and gripped the sheets. He had a chance to recover as I threaded a needle. I didn't have anything to numb or knock him out, so I tried to work quickly. His arms were shaking by the time I was done.

I covered the stitches with gauze pads and then bandages. Sam rolled onto his back and sat up. He pushed his hair back and said, "Thanks."

"Welcome. Now you stay here. I'm gonna go get you boys food and painkillers. If Dean wakes up while I'm gone, check for concussion symptoms and then call me. Got it?"

"Got it."

I left the room and stopped at the nearest store. I stocked up on food that wouldn't make Dean nauseous and the best over the counter painkillers that I could find. The cashier kept giving me odd looks as she rang it all up. But after I paid her she just told me to have a good day and then started helping the customer behind me. I returned to the motel and found the boys still in bed. Sam looked like he could nod off at any time, so I made him eat and medicate. Then he was out like a light.

As I was locking the door, Dean groaned. I turned around and saw him open his eyes. He squinted and mumbled, "Why's it so bright in here?"

I walked over to him and asked, "Do you know where we are?"

"...Minnesota."

"Good. How 'bout your Daddy's name?"

"John…"

"Your birthday?"

His response came slower this time. "March… sixth?"

"No, wanna try again?"

Instead, he clutched at his stomach and tried sitting up. I helped him to the bathroom and

when he got sick, it was mainly water and dry heaves. He didn't even argue when I told him I was taking him to the ER. That's how out of it he was. I left a note for Sam and then put Dean in the Impala. He leaned against his door as I drove to the hospital and kept asking him things to keep him awake. He got most of them wrong, but I continued doing it.

It was weird walking into the ER in the middle of the day. There were a few people waiting to be looked at and I felt sort of bad for them as I helped Dean walk past. We had almost made it to the check-in desk when he collapsed against me.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sam**

By the time I woke up, it was dark outside and the room was quiet. I frowned, realizing Bobby was gone. Dean too, except there was a note on his pillow. I reached over and picked it up, switching on the lamp. The note read: _Had to take Dean to the ER. Stay at the motel until you hear from me. You are still too medicated to drive._

I felt a knot forming in my stomach as I called Bobby. It took several rings for him to pick up. I told him, "I need to be there. There's no way I'm just going to sit here and-"

"Okay, okay. I'll be there soon. As long as you promise to take it easy and not yell at the hospital staff."

"I've never-"

Bobby snorted. "Yeah, right."

I sat at Dean's bedside, watching the heart monitor and mumbling,"This is my fault. This wasn't our first wendigo, I should've known better."

"What're you talking about?" Bobby questioned.

"After we set up camp, it was my turn to keep watch. I nodded off for maybe a couple minutes and then I heard… I thought I heard Dean screaming and shooting at something. So I followed the noise until I heard Dean back at camp yelling at me. The wendigo had drawn me out. It would've killed me if he hadn't gotten to me in time. And then it got him."

I buried my head in my hands and took a shaky breath. Bobby said, "This is not your fault. You responded to what you thought was your brother being attacked. And of course he put himself in the line of fire to protect you, that's what he does."

"It's my job to look after my pain-in-the-ass little brother," Dean muttered.

My head snapped up and I saw him open his eyes slowly. He focused on me and added, "Sammy, you look like crap."

I barely noticed Bobby step out of the room. I gripped Dean's forearm for a brief second before replying, "You don't look so hot yourself."

"I'm always hot," he sighed, wincing slightly as he tried to move his head.

"Easy, don't try to move. You really hit your head."

Bobby came back with a doctor, who asked Dean a series of questions as he checked his eyesight and the bump on the back of his head. The questions weren't as personal as the ones Bobby and I had used. The doctor asked him things like what year it was, who was president, and what had happened. At that, Dean glanced at Bobby and I before looking really confused. He said, "I don't really remember. I think there was a bear that we came across while we were hiking. Everything after that is fuzzy."

The doctor nodded. "It's not surprising that you don't remember. I'll let you rest and I'll go see if your test results are back yet."

He left, and Bobby told Dean,"We told him it was a bear too."

Dean was starting to doze off, but he managed to mumble, "I'm just that good."

 **Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed! You are all awesome! Don't worry, there's still going to be a few more chapters.I just wanted to say thanks :)**


	8. Chapter 8

I remembered setting up camp in the forest and waking Sam up for his watch. I remembered hearing him running off after hearing my replicated scream, which had given me chills. My memory was faulty after knocking the wendigo off of Sam. There were gaps in between Sam stitching me up, Bobby helping me to the Impala. The last thing I saw before blacking out was Bobby shooting the creature. And then nothing until waking up to Sam telling Bobby what had happened.

Now that I was able to stay conscious for more than an hour, I told Sam that he needed real food and sleep. He protested until I pulled the big brother card; "If you don't go take care of yourself, I'll tell the good doctor that you were attacked by the _bear_ too. He'll want to check your leg and put you on pain meds that I know you aren't taking like Bobby told you-"

"Okay, you win. Want me to sneak anything in for you?"

I considered the offer. "If you can find me a slice of pecan pie, I will forget that you're hurt for now. But you have to get some food and sleep for yourself first. Got it, Sammy?"

He stood and held his hand out to me. I shook it and he said, "Deal."

He then stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets and walked out, leaving Bobby and I. The older hunter chuckled and I asked, "What?"

"I don't get how you can both be such great mother hens for each other. Yesterday he was correcting a nurse who couldn't find a vein for your IV, and today you got him to go rest up. I've been telling him to go for hours."

I sighed. "I guess I just have the magic touch."

Bobby sat down in the chair Sam had vacated. "About five minutes before Sam called me to come get you two, Rufus was trying to get me to send you boys his way. I told him you were already on a hunt and that he should contact a hunter closer to him."

"And then you ended up driving to a different state to get us. Thanks, by the way."

"Boy, if you were in Switzerland and you needed my help, I'd be there. You know that."

I smiled. He rolled his eyes and added, "Even though I don't know how you'd handle a plane ride there and back. You freaked out on a plane that didn't even go over any bodies of water."

"Hey, there was a demon on that plane! We could've gone down at any moment. Hell, we would've if Sam hadn't- wait how did you know I freaked out?"

He gave me a knowing look. "Sam told me. And I've been on planes with you before."

I shook my head, then stopped as I started feeling a little dizzy. Bobby noticed, he always did, and said, "Sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

I mumbled, "Thanks, Bobby."

I closed my eyes and heard him say quietly, "Any time, boy."


	9. Chapter 9

**Bobby**

They released Dean two days later. I offered for the boys to stay with me until Dean was back to his full strength. But he had already found another case a few states over.

"It's a ghost, the hardest part will be digging up the bones," Dean assured me, leaning back against the Impala.

We were standing in the motel parking lot, watching Sam pack the trunk. He spoke up, "That's my job. I don't care what you say, you are not up to digging yet."

Dean sighed. "Yes, little brother, I know. You don't have to remind me."

Sam closed the trunk and walked around to the driver's door, the part of the car Dean was leaning against. The older of the two held his hand out for the keys and Sam gave him a look. They held the pose for a couple seconds before Dean gave in. He moved around to the passenger side and Sam smiled triumphantly. He told me, "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him."

"I know you will, boy. Just don't wear yourself out in the process," I reminded him.

"Got it." Sam fiddled with the key ring. "Thanks, Bobby."

"Welcome. Now go get that ghost."

I was watching them drive off when my cell phone rang. I answered, "What?"

"Hey, I stopped at your house to hide out for a couple days and you aren't here." It was Rufus.

"Sam and Dean needed help on a case. Why are you hiding at my house?" I got into my car and headed for the Interstate.

"It was the nearest place I could think of."

"You need to set up more safe houses. If you lead the cops to my front door you get to get rid of them."

I hung up on him and thought out loud, "One of these days I'm gonna call the cops on him myself."

The End

 **Thanks for all your support! I know the ending is short, but I think it works. Thanks again :)**


End file.
